Peter Kraus of 'Bachelorette' thinks dating apps are 'atrocious'

Everyone’s favorite contestant from Rachel Lindsay‘s season of The Bachelorette is no longer so keen on looking for love onscreen. Peter Kraus was the season’s standout star, breaking Lindsay’s heart while simultaneously winning over the rest of America for his genuine and realistic reasoning for breaking the franchise’s mold and not proposing during the season’s finale.

Although fans had hoped that his success would lead him to becoming the next Bachelor, it appears that he is taking a different path and returning to a rather normal offscreen life.

In his appearance on the talk show The Morning Breath on Friday, Kraus mentioned that this path does not include dating within Bachelor Nation. (He also revealed that he’s not, in fact, confirmed for the franchise’s new series, The Bachelor Winter Games.)

Later, during a chat with Yahoo Lifestyle, he condemned a similarly inauthentic way of dating: apps. Although the Wisconsin native admitted to having used both Tinder and Bumble prior to his Bachelorette days, he said that the interactions on the apps aren’t sincere.

“I was on Tinder and Bumble,” Kraus said. “I preferred Bumble; it just seemed less trashy, really. I gotta say, though, dating on apps nowadays is atrocious. No one writes back. It’s so hard to find genuine people because there’s always another option. So being on those dating apps, I actually hated it. I never met a single person really off of them. Anybody who I did meet was actually through social media.”

The personal trainer specified that direct messaging through platforms like Instagram is the only way he’s found a connection with anyone through a screen. However, as his name has become more recognizable, those DMs have become less about meeting real people and more about business deals and fangirls.

“I respond to those who say something that’s pertinent to the moment at hand,” he said. “So people who are asking a question about a class, I try to respond. I don’t see all of them, obviously. But I try to respond to those who I can help, and to things that are business-related. But that’s about it.”

Kraus is not unlike other Bachelorette contestants, receiving massive amounts of attention both online and in person. But many recognize that their adoration for him comes from a place of respect because of the way he was presented on the show. Taking his friend Dean Unglert’s rather unfavorable portrayal on Bachelor in Paradise as an example, Kraus observed that being cast in a negative light is pretty easy in the world of reality television. But Kraus seemed to avoid a poor reputation for himself by staying true to the person he’s always been.

In a society so focused on social media — which Kraus is very much involved in — it’s easy to seek fame and attention that causes you to stray from your authentic self. However, Kraus remains firmly grounded.

“I still think there are good, genuine people out there. Finding them maybe is a little bit harder,” he said. “I believe in staying close to the people that you love, being true to yourself, being true to your family and your roots. And if people want to incorporate themselves into that life, good. If not, screw ’em. They’re not meant to be in your life.”

The humble mentality that Kraus continues to display can be attributed to his hometown of Madison, Wis., where he still resides. In a small city with familiar people and no paparazzi, he said, his life is relatively unchanged for the few days a week that he’s home.

As the owner of his own personal training business called Worth, and a lead trainer at another studio, Kamps, Kraus said that there is a larger presence at many of his classes. However, the only times when the increased attention is really evident is when he’s away from Madison — about four days a week. Between appearances and hosting his own Peter Kraus Fitness bootcamps in partnership with Equinox, the trainer has found himself traveling to bigger cities, where crazier fan encounters take place — some of which he doesn’t yet know how to handle.

“I’m in the streets of New York and people are stopping me for selfies,” he said. “One girl started crying yesterday on the phone. That was insane. I’ve never really seen that before. This girl FaceTimed her sister, and her sister opens the phone and all of a sudden her face goes white and she starts crying. It’s just a very unique experience.”

The 31-year-old, who is balancing the old with the new, said he’s tired all the time, and that he would love to get some sort of men’s grooming regimen down, without altering his aesthetic.

“Luckily, people like the gray hair and the gap teeth,” he says of his look, which often gets him a George Clooney reference. “He’s a good-looking man. I’ll take that.”

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• Why JoJo Fletcher Will Never Take Her Fiancé, Jordan Rodgers, Shopping

• Tinder Reimbursed a Woman $400 After She Missed a Flight Because of a Good Date

• Humans of New York subject who wants his girlfriend to lose weight stirs controversy

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